Battlestar Galactica: "Sometimes a Great Notion" Review

After many months, Battlestar is back - Stronger and sadder than ever.

Advance Review:Battlestar Galactica is back at last, for the beginning of its final ten episodes. Right from the start, it's clear that this show is as wonderful as ever, and certainly is not backing down from the deeply powerful storylines they've followed in the past.

"Sometimes A Great Notion" picks up right on the heels of the last episode, with humans and their new Cylon allies having arrived on Earth, only to find it ravaged and dead. Even with all the months we've had to process this revelation, I imagine many are like me and haven't fully thought about the enormity of what they've discovered – but wow, does this episode remind you. These people were all going forward with the hope of Earth being their new home and really, the future and savior of humanity. Now that hope is dashed, and understandably, some very dark times arise among the characters - which is saying something considering how dark this show has been.

The reaction to what has happened is varied, but from Lee, to Kara, to Adama, Roslin, Dualla and Gaeta and many more, it's clear that everything has changed for these people once more. This goes for the Cylons working with the humans too, who had also thought Earth was their destiny, and also now have no choice but to investigate what they find and try to figure out what to do next. And while we saw their alliance form last year, this episode further explores this new dynamic, and it's still startling and intriguing to see some of these characters work together.

The dark times continue...

What's really surprising about this episode is that there are some huge revelations in it – by the end of the first half, some amazing things have been revealed that completely uproot the backstory on the series. On the heels of the discovery of Earth happening with ten episodes still to go, perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised, but it's really amazing and impressive to realize there are still several episodes to go and we're learning the things we are already. Not to say these revelations close doors – instead, they raise some major new questions to mull over as we head into the home stretch of this wonderful series.

The excellent cast are in top form here – standouts in this episode include Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff, both of whom must go to some very intense emotional places, as Adama and Starbuck both face personal crisis within the larger crisis the entire fleet is dealing with. The episode is also visually lovely, and there is a scene with Kara, shot mostly in silhouette that is particularly striking – and which ends with an image that had a welcome bit of a visual similarity to a memorable moment in the Star Wars films.

Because of the situation the characters now find themselves in, there is a huge sense of sadness running through the episode – sometimes subtle, sometimes very big and with great consequence. Indeed, this is one of the more tear-inducing episodes the series has ever seen. It's all done extremely well, as we feel the weight of the situations the Galactica crew are going through, and hope that somehow, they can find a way out.